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About
The Concept for Today's Automatic Wheel Lock
The concept for today’s Safer Automatic Wheelchair Wheel Lock fall prevention system was first developed by Dr. Grady Dugas. A 1953 graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine and a nursing home Medical Director for over 30 years, Dr. Dugas witnessed firsthand the problem of wheelchair-related falls. He made it his mission to help reduce falls and injuries, improving the quality of the residents’ lives.
Dr. Dugas began experimenting with various wheelchair locking and fall prevention systems and was awarded his first patent in 1993. Later, Dr. Dugas partnered with Bill Hoge, President of United Plastic Molders in Jackson, Mississippi. With the assistance of Bill Hoge and the skilled craftsmen at UPM, they developed a lighter, more maintenance-free wheelchair wheel lock design that utilized advanced DuPont polymers. This new design was patented in 1999, leading to the formation of Safer Automatic Wheelchair Wheel Locks.
Today, the dedicated professionals at UPM and Safer Automatic Wheelchair Wheel Locks continue to fulfill Dr. Dugas’ mission to "help prevent wheelchair-related falls and improve the quality of life for all people who use a wheelchair."
Our Mission
Our mission at Safer Automatic Wheelchair Wheel Locks, or Safer Locks, is to help reduce wheelchair-related falls and injuries while improving the quality of life for thousands of people who rely on wheelchairs for daily mobility.
Work Team
The team at Safer Locks and United Plastic Molders takes great pride in helping to prevent falls and in the quality of their work and craftsmanship.
Safer Locks and UPM staff average over 20 years of dedication and experience in their field.
Our Commitment
We know that preventing falls and protecting the safety of your residents is a top priority. Despite this, every year thousands of individuals suffer falls and subsequent injuries while attempting to get in or out of a wheelchair that is not properly secured. Restraints are not an option and caregivers cannot be in all places at all times. That is where we can help prevent falls.
Safer Locks is committed to preventing falls while protecting and enhancing the safety of any person using a wheelchair. Our patented wheelchair wheel locking system can be an integral part of the fall prevention solution by keeping your resident "safer". Combined with a program of overall fitness and rehabilitation, advancements in technology such as Safer Locks can help keep wheelchairs from rolling away when the user tries to get up from or sit in a wheelchair with the manual locks disengaged.
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